The invention relates to a belt conveyor converted from a pre-existing belt- or roller-conveyor frame, a kit for performing the conversion, and a method for performing the conversion.
Many kinds of conveyors are used in industrial settings to transport articles. Roller conveyors, for example, consist of an array of metal rollers arranged side by side along the length of a conveyor frame. The ends of the rollers are retained in opposite sides of the conveyor frame. The rollers rotate about axes directed widthwise across the conveyor perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The rollers may be passive, but are commonly driven to rotate by a drive belt. The width of the conveyor frame is fixed to accommodate the axial length of the rollers. Roller conveyors work well, but are notoriously noisy and often require repair. As another example, flat belt conveyors are also commonly used to transport articles. These conveyors include flat rubber or fabric belts tensioned between drive and idler pulleys at opposite ends. But a flat belt can drift to one side of the pulleys and stretch over time. If it tears, the belt must be removed from the conveyor, the torn section cut out, and a new section spliced in.
Because of the shortcomings of roller conveyors and flat belt conveyors, it is often desirable to replace them with modular plastic belt conveyors. Furthermore, it is often desirable to widen a conveyor to handle more product. But converting to a modular belt conveyor from a roller conveyor, a flat belt conveyor, or a modular belt conveyor of a different width is usually a time-consuming and costly operation. The conversion is difficult mainly because conveyor frames are typically designed to accommodate the rollers or the belt they were originally specified to be used with. That's why the width of a conveyor is usually fixed.
Thus, there is a need for a simple means for converting a pre-existing conveyor frame into a conveyor that runs a modular conveyor belt of a variety of widths—even widths greater than the width of the pre-existing conveyor frame.